Jessup power plant plan latest since shale boom began

The combined-cycle electricity plant proposed for Jessup represents the most efficient technology for producing energy from natural gas and the latest in a number of power projects proposed for the region since natural gas began flowing up from the Marcellus Shale formation.

An official from Invenergy LLC went before Jessup Borough Council on Monday to give an overview of the project, still in very preliminary stages. The company was requesting a change in the borough's noise ordinance.

The power plant, which would employ about two dozen people and cost $500 million to build, would be on the east side of the Casey Highway near the end of Sunnyside Road.

In a combined-cycle power plant, electricity is generated from fuel two times. First, the natural gas is burned, and that combustion turns a turbine to generate electricity. The hot exhaust from that step is captured to boil water, the steam of which is used to turn another turbine.

"We are seeing more of these sorts of plants proposed because of the economics of natural gas and the strides in technology," said Jacob G. Smeltz, executive director of the Electric Power Generation Association, a Pennsylvania trade group.

Gas-powered electricity plants are less expensive to build, the technology has gotten more efficient, and they have fewer environmental hurdles than coal or nuclear plants, Mr. Smeltz said. Also, natural gas prices are low - for the near future.

Combined-cycle plants require water, but much of the water is re-used, getting boiled and condensed over and over. In the process, plants can use either municipal water or fresh water.

Improved pollution control and emission controls, along with the rise of natural gas as fuel in the generation fleet, has driven down emissions related to power generation in the state. Since 2000, sulfur dioxide emission fell 75 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions are down 40 percent, Mr. Smeltz said.

The impact of a natural gas generation on air quality is modest, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Burning natural gas produces nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide, but in lower quantities than burning coal or oil. Emission of sulfur dioxide and mercury compounds from burning natural gas are negligible, the agency said.

Jessup resident Matthew Yakubik, who lives somewhat close to the proposed site, said he hopes there will be more discussion about the impact of the plant on air quality. He raised concerns about the impact on the Nature Conservancy preserve on the top of Moosic Mountain and nearby state game lands.

Based in Chicago, Invenergy is a private company, but a global one with 58 power projects from Europe to Japan. Wind is the vast majority of its portfolio, with 49 projects generating 4,244 megawatts, according to the company website. Only six of the facilities are natural gas.

Officials at Invenergy could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But according to the presentation, the power plant would provide "peak" and "intermediate" power. Base-load power facilities, typically nuclear and coal, operate around-the-clock. In times of higher demand, intermediate generators are fired up.

Peaking power plants operate during times of high demand, such as the hottest days of summer when air conditioners are likely to be on.

Electricity generation transmission grid in the region managed by the PJM Interconnection, a Valley Forge-based nonprofit regional transmission organization. From its control center in Valley Forge, PJM monitors the grid and decides when and what generation facilities will be brought online, typically calling up the lowest cost producers first. However, a generator also has the option of selling power directly to a customer, rather than on the PJM auction.

Electricity generation is not new to the Midvalley. The Archbald Cogeneration Power Plant burned waste coal, or culm, left behind from mining operations until it was retrofitted to run on natural gas and came back online in 1998 as PEI Power Corp., burning methane recovered from Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore and Throop and the Alliance Landfill in Taylor and Ransom Twp.

Other combined-cycle natural gas plants are in development, including a 900-megawatt facility for Asylum Twp. proposed by Moxie Liberty LLC. Moosic-based Future Power PA is planning the 300-megawatt Good Spring Natural Gas Combined Cycle facility in Schuylkill County.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

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